While the forecast is for a long, hot, El Niño summer, the weather people don’t always get it right. 

When those grey clouds release rain on our holiday fun - or maybe you just need a break from the sun - it’s handy to have a Plan B up your sleeve, especially with young children in close vicinity.

Waitaki App has compiled a list of ideas - a “go-to guide” if you will - for when bored kids are driving you up the wall, screentime is at an all-time high, and you can’t think your way out of a paper bag.

Waitaki Aquatic Centre

My mother always tells me, when children are bored, grumpy or fighting, “just add water”, and it works a treat. 

If the rain is putting you off the outdoor water options - don’t forget the Waitaki Aquatic Centre.

Usually open from 6am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 6pm on weekends, the Christmas hours are:

• December 24 - 9am to 3pm, 
• Christmas Day and Boxing Day - CLOSED, 
• December 27-30 - 10am to 6pm, 
• December 31 - 10am to 3pm. 
• New Year’s Day and January 2 - CLOSED. 

Regular hours resume from January 8, and keep an eye out on the Facebook page for updates on special activities such as the giant inflatables.

Forrester Gallery

Allow your child to explore their creative side (and make the mess somewhere else!), at the Forrester Gallery's wonderful Wonderlab.

From December 16, the Wonderlab exhibition in the lower Thames Street gallery is Pop, dash splash!

It’s all about the colours of the rainbow and is curated by gallery educator Liz King.

There will be interactive elements including a Lego wall, an embroidery table, and a colouring-in station – so plenty for families to enjoy. 

The exhibition is free, although donations are always welcome, and you can explore the other exhibitions on display in the gallery at the same time.

Christmas hours are: 

• Tuesday to Friday 10am - 4pm
• Weekends 1pm - 4pm
• Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day, and January 2 - CLOSED

The Pop, dash splash! exhibition at the Forrester Gallery's Wonderlab is perfect to keep children busy. Photo: Supplied

Waitaki District Libraries

Reading is always a great option (indoors or out) for any time you have a moment to put your feet up.

If your children also love a good book - or if they don’t and you want to offer an incentive - the Waitaki District Libraries provide free activity booklets and reading logs to help encourage your child to bury their noses in some pages.

From now through until January 22, children can collect the booklets from the library, and returned reading logs get them an entry into a prize draw.

For opening hours across all the Waitaki District Libraries (Hampden, Kurow, Ōamaru, Otematata, Omarama and Palmerston) see here.

Steampunk HQ

This is a museum like none you have ever seen before.

For those who have not come across Steampunk before, it is a quirky and fun genre of science fiction that features steam-powered technology, often set in an alternate, futuristic version of 19th Century Victorian England.

Steampunk HQ allows for hands-on exploration and discovery of an interesting collection of retro-futuristic sci-fi art, movies, sculpture and sound. 

The highlight is the Infinity Portal - a hi-tech mirror and lighting installation - which offers an experience children and adults alike will want to experience over and over again.

Steampunk HQ is open every day, except Christmas Day, from 10am to 4pm.

Whitestone City is located in the heart of Ōamaru’s Victorian precinct, and is an indoor “city” set in an original 1882 grain store.

It harbours interactive activities such as a penny-farthing carousel, Victorian games, and video, live and static displays.

The welcoming Victorian-clad staff help provide a glimpse of what Oamaru would have been like in the town’s early days - a living, breathing Whitestone City is not your run-of-the-mill heritage attraction.

Open daily - 10am-4pm (last entry 3.15pm).

Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day - Closed.

Ōamaru Cinema

A rainy day for this reporter always screams “Movies!” 

Over the holiday period, Ōamaru Cinema is screening a selection of movies which should keep the whole family happy. Three of those are Wonka, Wish and Migration.

Wonka is a music fantasy film based on the origin story of Willy Wonka from the Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Disney movie Wish celebrates the media company’s 100th anniversary, and is about Asha, a young girl who makes a powerful wish and teams up with a cosmic force named Star to save her kingdom from the evil King Magnifico.

Migration is an animated adventure comedy which follows the story of a family of mallard ducks who attempt to migrate from New England, through New York City, to Jamaica.

The cinema is closed Christmas eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and January 1 and 2.

The Phoenix Complex, formerly The Galleon Family Complex, is situated at the north end of Ōamaru on Thames Highway

It has an 8-lane tenpin bowling alley, Combat Laser Tag, pool tables and an arcade games area, and you can grab a meal, a drink, or some hot chips while you’re playing.

Janet Frame House might be one of Ōamaru’s best-kept secrets when it comes to tourist attractions. 

Visit the house at 56 Eden Street, where one of New Zealand’s most well-known authors lived until the age of six.

The house is open 2-4pm daily between 1 November and 30 April. Visits outside this time may be possible by prior arrangement, and entry is $5.

Monday to Saturday you will be greeted by curator Rachel Fenton, while on Sundays the house hosts are volunteers.

Harbour St Collective Cafe is a well-known sanity saver for North Otago parents of young children on a rainy day.

Not only do they serve up the much-needed caffeine and a decent feed, but they also have an indoor playground that will keep those aged 11 and under entertained long enough to let you drink your coffee while it’s still hot!

The cafe is open seven days 7:30am-4pm, but closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, December 27 and New Year's Day.